Ironically, Velasquez admitted after capturing the title he learned quite a bit about Lesnar’s stand-up game, or lack there of, in studying his scrap with the heavy-handed Carwin. While Lesnar survived Carwin’s early onslaught in their shootout, it was the Mexican-American that was forced to show his cajones in The OC.

After eating a few knees and bouncing back up from a brief takedown in the opening ticks, Velasquez quickly turned the tables and started headhunting.

“What Cain did is what great fighters do, they learn from what they can study,” Carwin posted on his website. “How would have my fight turned out if I had let Brock stand and knock him down again and again? It really doesn’t matter about what happened last night or in July, the only thing that matters is what is to be.”

If anyone knows how fickle MMA fanboys can be, it’s the former interim title holder. Although he left his highly anticipated bout against Lesnar with a practically perfect 12-1 record, some were quick to hop off his bandwagon after gassing following his 1stRound barrage. Carwin has promised to violently bounce back against Twitter rival Roy Nelson at UFC 125, and he’s confident the former WWE superstar will do the same when the time comes.

“Those of you writing Brock off should consider this; the man walked into the UFC at the top level (who does that?) and won and defended the UFC heavyweight title belt. He took a beating from me and came back and found a way to win. He nearly lost his life and he came back and found a way to win. He is 4-2 in MMA and some of the wins are UFC title DEFENSES,” Carwin added.

“He is a real champion, a real warrior and as long as he keeps training and learning MMA he will continue to be a force. Every great champion will lose, the great ones rise again and it would not surprise me to see Brock defending a title again one day. Win or lose, he should be respected for being the warrior he is.”

Although Octagon brass would have preferred for Lesnar to retain his title – or more importantly, his aura of invincibility – the silver lining in the upset is that it makes their 265-pound division that much deeper. It’s a welcomed change for fight fans that were once forced to watch two too many Tim Sylvia vs. Andrei Arlovski title bouts.

The former kingpins met three times during the company’s heavyweight snoozer days of yesteryear. Thankfully, that was many moons ago and Cawin claims fanatics have a lot to look forward to.

“The UFC heavyweight division has an amazing crop of fighters right now, with four worthy title holders (Cain, Brock, JDS and myself), and a lot of amazing talent knocking on the door to get their name on the list for a title shot,” Carwin said in closing. “This is going to be the era of the UFC heavyweights and I am here to make a impact.”